Fabrication of black aluminium thin films by magnetron sputtering.

Black aluminium thin films were prepared by direct current (DC) pulsed magnetron sputtering. The N2 concentration in the Ar-N2 mixture that was used as the deposition atmosphere was varied from 0 to 10%, and its impact on the film growth and optical properties was studied. A strong change in the film growth process was observed as a function of the N2 concentration. At a specific N2 concentration of ∼6%, the Al film growth process favoured the formation of a moth-eye-like antireflective surface. This surface morphology, which was similar to the structure of a cauliflower, is known to trap incident light, resulting in films with a very low reflectivity. A diffuse reflectivity lower than 4% was reached in the ultraviolet-visible-near infrared (UV-VIS-NIR) spectral range that corresponds to a value observed for an ultrahigh absorber. We found that for the preparation of black aluminium, the nitrogen content plays an important role in film formation and the resulting film morphology.

Density patterns in metal films produced by laser interference.

Fringed periodic patterns have been produced by laser interference at 193 nm in an almost continuous 9.5 nm-thick Ag film that exhibits a number density of ≈189 µm(-2) holes. Patterns with four periods in the range of 1.8-10.2 µm were produced by changing the projection optics. At high fluences, the film breaks up into nanostructures around the regions exposed to intensity maxima due to laser-induced melting. At low fluences, a new process is observed that is triggered at the initial holes of the film by solid-state dewetting. Once the fluence is high enough to prevent the temperature balance across the pattern, mass transport from cold to hot regions is observed, leading to film densification in regions around intensity maxima sites. The novel patterns are thus formed by fringes of material that is more/less dense than the as-grown film, each of which is located at intensity maxima/minima sites, and have negligible topography. Comparing the present results to earlier reports in the literature shows that the thermal gradient across the pattern is influenced by the initial film microstructure, rather than by the thickness. The existence of a minimum period, which is achievable depending on the thermal continuity of the film, is also discussed.

Period dependence of laser induced patterns in metal films.

Periodic fringed patterns with four periods in the range 1.8-10.2 µm have been produced in continuous Ag films that have thicknesses of 14.6 nm and 19.5 nm by exposing a phase mask to single pulses of an excimer laser operating at 193 nm. The films were patterned either as-grown or after homogeneous exposure to the same laser beam. For fluences above the threshold, the films undergo liquid-state dewetting that, from low to high fluences, leads to their break into holes, fingers or elongated features and finally to isolated nanoparticles irrespective of the period, thickness or fluence. The period determines the range of fluences to achieve the different morphologies since the temperature profile across the pattern depends on the period due to the existence of significant lateral heat flow across the pattern. The maximum temperature achieved at the intensity maxima/minima sites thus decreases/increases as the period decreases, leading to solid-state dewetting at regions around the intensity minima; the shorter the period, the higher this type of dewetting. These regions eventually overcome the melting temperature for the shortest period and intermediate fluence, leading to the complete transformation of the films. Finally, the initial film morphology (discontinuities or holes) rather than thickness plays an essential role in the level of transformation at fluences around the threshold.

2D plasmonic and diffractive structures with sharp features by UV laser patterning.

The aim of this work is to produce 2D plasmonic and diffractive structures in Ag films with sharp features for which both a deeper understanding of laser induced transformation upon modulated laser intensity and a correlation between structural and optical properties are required. We compare results obtained by exposing silver films to an excimer laser operating at 193 nm whose intensity is either modulated or homogeneous. In all cases, one laser exposure is enough to break the film into nanoparticles (NPs). The use of the modulated beam intensity leads to diffractive 2D patterns that are formed by rectangular regions of untransformed material surrounded by transformed regions covered by NPs. The former have sharp edges that are consistent with the absence of significant mass transport that is discussed in terms of the thermal gradient induced. The latter contain NPs whose diameter increases as the initial film effective thickness increases. The surface plasmons associated with the NPs in the transformed regions dominate the reflectivity spectrum and the 2D array formed by the untransformed regions is responsible for the diffractive properties. Evidence for spinodal dewetting is only observed in our case for the steep gradient conditions achieved at the border of the homogeneously irradiated regions.